Fintech PR

Water investment key to averting global conflict surge

Published

6 hours ago

October 30, 2024

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LONDON, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today marks the launch of the 5th edition of the Ecological Threat Report (ETR) from international think-tank, the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP). The report concludes that without concerted international action, accelerating ecological degradation will amplify social friction and conflicts worldwide. These challenges will be further exacerbated by climate change.

Key results:

Ecological risks are intensifying due to climate change, population growth, and conflict, with a strong correlation between ecological degradation, poverty and the incidence of conflict.
50 countries, currently home to 1.3 billion people, face high or very high levels of ecological threat. The population in these nations is projected to increase to almost 2 billion by 2050.
The ETR identifies 27 ecological hotspots countries: where extreme ecological risks intersect with low societal resilience, leaving them vulnerable to instability, conflict and humanitarian crisis.
Of the 27 hotspot countries, 19 are in sub-Saharan Africa and four are in the Middle East and North Africa. Many are currently experiencing conflict or civil unrest.
Conflict prevention in agro-pastoralist communities is strongly linked to the strength of local governance structures, with community-based approaches proving more successful than external interventions.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest irrigation rates in the world, with only 1.8 per cent of cultivated land being irrigated. There is substantial opportunity to relieve ecological pressure through improved water collection and management.
An annual investment of $15 billion in water capture and agricultural enhancement initiatives to 2050 could lift food production in sub-Saharan Africa by 50%.

The 2024 Ecological Threat Report covers 207 countries and highlights a growing global crisis as ecological threats, climate change, poor governance, population growth and conflict intersect. The report identifies 50 countries, home to 1.3 billion people, facing high or very high levels of ecological threats. These countries, 82% of which are in Africa, are projected to see a 51% population increase by 2050.

Sub-Saharan Africa emerges as a particular area of concern. A recent severe El Niño-induced drought in the region has affected 68 million people, or 17% of the region’s population. The drought, which started in early 2024, has hit crop and livestock production, causing food shortages and damaging wider economies. Food prices are 25% higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, further compounding access to food.

However, the region has the greatest potential globally to improve its food production capacity. For example, the average maize yield in Africa is just 1.9 tonnes per hectare, compared to the global average of 5.4 tonnes. Additionally, the region possesses 200 million hectares of untapped arable land. By implementing micro-water capture techniques and adopting improved agricultural practices, sub-Saharan Africa could substantially enhance its ecological resilience and food security.

Steve Killelea, Founder & Executive Chairman of IEP, said: “The world is at a critical juncture where ecological threats are increasingly intertwined with conflict risks, poverty and debt. Our research shows that targeted investments in water capture and agricultural practices could dramatically improve food security, increase local resilience, lessen conflict and alleviate forced migration.“

Ecological Hotspots

The ETR identifies 27 ecological hotspots: countries where high ecological risks intersect with low societal resilience. These hotspot countries face increased risks of instability, conflict, and humanitarian crises. The geographical distribution of these hotspots is heavily skewed, with 19 located in sub-Saharan Africa, four in the Middle East and North Africa, and the remaining four spread across Asia and the Caribbean.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces the most acute ecological threats, driven by high levels of food insecurity, water stress, and rapid population growth.
South Asia recorded the second-highest overall ETR score, driven by its vulnerability to natural disasters, which are the highest of any region.
Europe and North America are the only two regions where no subnational areas face high or very high levels of ecological threat.

Hotspot countries tend to cluster geographically, which can lead to regional instability as ecological and humanitarian crises will encompass multiple countries. Spillover effects include population displacement, new cross-border conflicts, and disruptions to transportation networks and supply chains.

The severity of the situation is underscored by the fact that many hotspot countries are currently experiencing armed conflicts or civil unrest, highlighting the interplay between ecological threats, low resilience, and heightened risk of violence. Without addressing these challenges, the compounding effects of population growth, environmental degradation, and weak governance could lead to a cycle of increasing instability, particularly in regions already prone to conflict.

Governance & Water Management

Water risk is more closely tied to weak governance than water scarcity. For example, the UAE faces low water risk despite limited resources, while nearby Yemen struggles despite having more abundant water resources. The report highlights that an annual investment of $15 billion in small-scale water capture and related initiatives could substantially mitigate ecological risks in sub-Saharan Africa, with the potential to triple crop yields in some areas. This is crucial, as the region needs to more than double its cereal production to meet its basic food needs over the next 25 years.

The ETR also identifies potential solutions, particularly in water management and agricultural practices, that could significantly improve food security and economic prospects in vulnerable regions. Small-scale water capture projects like sand dams, rock runoff and dams in Africa show promising results, with a single $50,000 investment potentially irrigating up to 9 hectares and yielding a $180,000 return. Sub-Saharan Africa has approximately 34.2 million hectares of land with untapped irrigation potential, which could be utilised using less than 6% of the region’s renewable water resources.

Steve Killelea added: “It’s crucial that governments and international organisations prioritise these interventions to build resilience and prevent future conflicts. Strengthening local governance and community-based conflict resolution mechanisms has proven more effective than external security interventions in mitigating tensions before they escalate into violence.“

Climate change acts as a threat amplifier, exacerbating existing tensions in areas with a history of conflict, weak institutions, and low resilience. In areas prone to resource competition, climate-induced scarcity of water or arable land can escalate tensions between communities. The impact is particularly pronounced in countries with weak institutions, where governments lack the capacity to effectively manage climate-related stresses or mediate resulting conflicts.

The rise of agro-pastoralist conflicts in the Sahel affects over 50 million people, demonstrating how ecological pressures can intensify existing ethnic and resource-based tensions. Transnational extremist groups have exploited these local grievances to mobilise fighters and escalate conflicts. The Sahel region accounts for nearly 16% of Africa’s total conflict deaths, despite comprising only 6.8% of the continent’s population. Of particular concern is the encroachment of these groups into areas that were relatively peaceful, including the West African countries of Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo and Nigeria.

Water and food security

Water risk is strongly correlated with weak governance and poor infrastructure, with sub-Saharan Africa using only 2% of its renewable water resources for agriculture, compared to an average across all global regions of 6.7%. However, with appropriate investment the worst effects can be avoided. Only 1.8% of cultivated land in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated, less than one-tenth of the global rate of 19%.

Additionally, advances in irrigation technology will make water use in agriculture more efficient, with irrigated land in low- and middle-income countries expected to increase by 34% by 2030, but total agricultural water usage expected to increase by only 14%.

Future global implications

Climate change is set to stress water resources in the glacier-fed ecosystems of South Asia and South America, while rising sea levels will increase salinity in some of the world’s most fertile agricultural regions, particularly in Southeast Asia. More extreme weather in China and India will make it harder to feed the 2.8 billion people who live there. Additionally, more than 91 million people depend on the lower Mekong River Basin and Nile deltas for their livelihoods, with upstream damming severely affecting water flows.

The global implications of these ecological threats extend beyond regional boundaries. Food shortage in one area can impact global food prices and availability due to the interconnected nature of supply chains. As climate change intensifies, there will be significant shifts in global migration patterns, reshaping demographics and economies in both origin and destination countries. Adequate investment in more efficient water and land use for agriculture can dramatically mitigate the worst effects of ecological degradation, improve economies, prevent conflict, and reduce forced migration.

NOTES TO EDITORS

For more information and to download the Ecological Threat Report 2024, visit https://visionofhumanity.org and https://economicsandpeace.org. Video footage for broadcast and sound for radio is available by contacting Tim Johnston below.

About the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP): IEP is an international and independent think tank dedicated to shifting the world’s focus to peace as a positive, achievable, and tangible measure of human wellbeing and progress. It has offices in Sydney, Brussels, New York, The Hague, Mexico City and Nairobi.

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Fintech PR

Infosys Finacle Launches Data and AI Suite to Help Banks Accelerate their AI Journey

Published

49 mins ago

October 30, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

BENGALURU, India, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys (NSE: INFY), (BSE: INFY), (NYSE: INFY), today announced the launch of the Finacle Data and AI Suite, a set of solutions to empower banks to infuse AI into their digital operations and accelerate their enterprise AI journey. The suite will offer a comprehensive set of platforms that enable banks to build low-code, predictive as well as generative AI solutions from the ground up with high transparency and explainability. It will help banks scale their data readiness, industrialize AI model development, apply generative AI technologies, and deliver actionable insights across their entire ecosystem.

The Finacle Data and AI Suite is a part of Infosys Topaz – an AI-first set of offerings using generative AI technologies and steered by a ‘responsible by design’ approach that ensures strong standards of AI ethics, trust, privacy, security and regulatory compliance. The suite consists of three components.

Finacle Data Platform: It includes an automated data pipeline to clean, transform, and deliver data for AI and other organizational requirements. This sits alongside a modular data lakehouse with BIAN (Banking Industry Architecture Network) inspired data models and domain-specific data marts for rapid, interoperable access.
Finacle AI Platform: It allows banks to build, train, deploy, monitor, and optimize AI solutions from a unified interface. It features a wide range of pre-trained models and ML techniques, combined with a no-code, generative AI-driven approach, allowing both technical and business users to rapidly create explainable AI solutions. The platform’s extensive library of pre-built use cases facilitates seamless AI integration into various business processes and user journeys. Features such as model comparators, what-if simulations and pattern analysis, help refine and elevate modelling sophistication. The platform promotes responsible AI practices with capabilities for detecting biases and drifts and includes a patent-pending synthetic data generation feature to safeguard data privacy during training.
Finacle Generative AI Offerings: These encompass a diverse range of AI assistants designed for both enterprise and customer-centric applications, including the Finacle Knowledge AI Assistant, designed to facilitate NLP-based information extraction from document repositories, and the Finacle Support AI Assistant, which enhances ticket resolution for support teams. Additionally, generative AI technology plays a foundational role in Finacle AI Platform, empowering users with an interactive interface to select and build the right models for their AI use cases.

Sajit Vijayakumar, Chief Business Officer and Global Head, Infosys Finacle, said, “AI is transforming banking by redefining the future of customer experience, risk management, and decision-making. By leveraging data at scale, AI empowers banks to anticipate needs, personalize solutions, and drive growth with unprecedented agility. We are excited to introduce the Finacle Data and AI Suite as a definitive solution for banks seeking to harness the power of AI. The Finacle Data Platform lays out a robust data foundation, and the Finacle AI Platform abstracts the complexities of AI development, putting power in the hands of banks’ business teams to unlock the true potential of AI.”

“Finacle’s cutting-edge AI Suite for the banking industry harnesses the power of Microsoft Azure and Azure OpenAI Service to enable banks to scale AI initiatives and drive innovation across critical areas such as customer interactions, operations, and strategic decision-making,” said Marianne Roling, Vice President, Systems Integrators, Microsoft. “By leveraging AI, Infosys Finacle is laying the groundwork for a smarter, more agile, and resilient banking ecosystem.”

Jerry Silva, Program Vice President, IDC Financial Insights, said, “AI-fueled business is the next revolution in the financial services industry. But success will be predicated on how quickly banks can integrate AI into their operations while maintaining governance and compliance. While generative AI has raised the urgency for adoption, long-term differentiation will come from a strong commitment to robust data readiness and responsible AI practice. Platforms like Finacle Data and AI Suite can support the banks’ goals of faster adoption of AI as a tool to respond quickly and effectively in a fast-evolving landscape.”

About Infosys Finacle

Finacle is an industry leader in digital banking solutions. We are a unit of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned product subsidiary of Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY). We partner with emerging and established financial institutions to help inspire better banking. Our cloud-native solution suite and SaaS services help banks engage, innovate, operate, and transform better to scale digital transformation with confidence. Finacle solutions address the core banking, lending, digital engagement, payments, cash management, wealth management, treasury, analytics, AI, and blockchain requirements of financial institutions. Today, banks in over 100 countries rely on Finacle to help more than a billion people and millions of businesses to save, pay, borrow, and invest better. For more information, visit www.finacle.com.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance, are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the ‘safe harbor’ under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, increased competition for talent, our ability to attract and retain personnel, increase in wages, investments to reskill our employees, our ability to effectively implement a hybrid work model, economic uncertainties and geo-political situations, technological disruptions and innovations such as Generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, our corporate actions including acquisitions, and cybersecurity matters. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

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Fintech PR

H.I.G. Realty Expands Investment in the U.K. Elderly Sector

Published

49 mins ago

October 30, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

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LONDON, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative investment firm with $65 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company Lovett Care, a leading provider of elderly care homes across England and Wales, has completed the acquisition of New Care.

Established in 2009 and based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Lovett Care has grown to a portfolio of 16 homes (1,091 care beds) and is committed to becoming the best-in-class provider in the elderly care sector, through continued investment in its facilities, systems, and people. Cheshire based New Care has a portfolio of 15 facilities (1,057 care beds) and has established a strong reputation for delivering high quality care in modern, purpose-built settings. The combined group will own 31 homes with a total capacity of 2,148 beds, making it a top 20 care home operator in the UK and one of the largest in the Midlands.

Riccardo Dallolio, Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Realty in Europe, commented: “We are delighted to complete this transaction and to continue in our plan of building one of the leading players in the U.K. elderly care sector. We have created several successful real estate platforms in sectors with strong underlying secular trends such as hospitality, logistics, and self-storage, working with best in sector management teams.”

Stelios Theodosiou, Managing Director at H.I.G. Realty, commented: “The transaction demonstrates our ability to source and execute off-market transactions that are highly synergistic to our existing portfolio companies. This transaction will bring together two award winning groups with a strong track record of delivering and operating high-quality next-generation care homes. We will continue to seek opportunities to expand our Lovett Care portfolio, both organically and inorganically, pursuing our goal of making Lovett Care a top 10 care home operator in the UK.”

Lovett Care CEO, Keith Crockett, said: “We are pleased to welcome the residents and our new colleagues at New Care to the Lovett Care family and are looking forward to working and growing together. This is a key milestone in our long-term strategy and consistent with our commitment to deliver the best quality care in attractive market locations.”

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global alternative investment firm with $65 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Dubai, and Hong Kong, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:

H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche, and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at hig.com.

*Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.

Contact:

Riccardo Dallolio
Managing Director
[email protected]

Stelios Theodosiou
Managing Director
[email protected]

H.I.G. Capital
10 Grosvenor Street
London W1K 4QB
United Kingdom
P +44 (0) 207 318 5700
hig.com

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Fintech PR

FYLD Secures $10 Million in Financing from NatWest

Published

49 mins ago

October 30, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

Ahead of its Series B investment round, the funds will accelerate growth opportunities and expansion for the AI-powered fieldwork software

DENVER, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — FYLD, the AI-powered, fieldwork effectiveness platform for the global infrastructure sector announced today that NatWest, one of the UK’s largest business and commercial banks, has provided $10 million of growth capital to FYLD. The long-term banking partnership will enable expedited investments and continued growth across markets, especially as FYLD scales past the development stage.

“NatWest’s confidence in us and our market-leading product confirms that our vision is necessary to reinvent field workforce execution across the industry,” Shelley Copsey, FYLD’s CEO and co-founder, said. “This investment will be instrumental in our ability to drive change where it’s most needed, as we focus on our U.S. expansion, strengthen our position in the market as we set the stage for our next era of growth, and pave the way toward a more proactive, efficient field workforce.”

NatWest serves more than 19 million people, families, and businesses across the UK and Ireland. Positioning itself as a “relationship bank for a digital world” – NatWest focuses on championing potential and driving change for its communities in enterprise, learning, and climate, focusing on the people and communities who have traditionally faced the highest barriers to entry and figuring out ways to remove these obstacles.

Simon Foss, Vice President, Venture & Growth Finance, at NatWest said “This transaction showcases NatWest’s dedication to supporting innovative scale-up businesses, like FYLD, where we aim to build long-lasting partnerships with businesses that are driving innovation and making an invaluable contribution to the growth of the economy. Our financing will support the further expansion of FYLD’s transformational fieldwork software which promotes better safety behaviors and increases productivity and high-quality outcomes through AI-enhanced workflows.”

As FYLD nears its fifth anniversary, the industry leader is on track to double its revenue in 2024 with strong gross and net revenue rates, along with:

Raising a £32 million Series A funding round from 2021 to 2023 led by Koru, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s venture incubator with participation from SGN, to take the platform global
Securing awards and recognitions including Tech Nation’s Future Fifty, The Energy Innovation Council, CEMEX Ventures Global Construction Startup Competition, and the UK IT Awards
Valuing diversity in hiring, with 45% of the FYLD team being women

To learn more about FYLD and how it is reimagining the future of fieldwork, visit: https://fyld.ai/.

About FYLD
Founded in 2020, FYLD offers an AI-driven digital platform that empowers field managers to make proactive, data-led decisions in real time and transform operational processes and procedures with data. A unique collaboration between SGN, Boston Consulting Group’s BCG X and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) FYLD is redefining the execution of field workforce operations in the infrastructure sector globally. Recognized as a breakthrough platform with awards from the Energy Innovation Council, CEMEX Ventures global construction tech startup competition and UK IT Awards, FYLD is ushering in a new era for productivity, safety, quality and sustainability in the field. Visit https://www.fyld.ai/ for more.

About NatWest Bank plc, Venture & Growth Finance
NatWest Venture & Growth Finance supports UK innovators, from high growth B2B software to research-intensive IP-rich scale-ups, with non-dilutive and flexible funding plans to accelerate growth. The proposition is part of NatWest Bank Plc, one of the UK’s largest retail and commercial banks, sitting within NatWest’s Corporates & Institutions division which is a major backer of global technology, media and telecom (TMT) companies, providing a full suite of lending and broader banking services. Visit Venture & Growth Finance | NatWest Corporates and Institutions for more.

Media Contact
Caroline Phipps
Carve Communications
[email protected]

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